Color-printing machine.



P. MORRIS.

COLOR PRINTING MACHINE. APPLICATION man MAR. lvs. 19de.

Patented Oct. 16

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

P. MORRIS.

COLOR PRINTING MACHINE1 APPLICATION FILED MAR. I5. I9Ie.

Patented Oct. 16, 1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2- n. Olin jizz/ma?? P. MORRIS.

COLOR PRINTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. I5. I9I6. L243,333 Patented 00t.16,1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3- P. MORRIS.

COLOR PRINTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MAR. I5. IsIfI.

IIII XIII 1 .I o: o NNN L--- 'EERCY MORRIS,

or tonnen, ENGLAND.

@GLOB-PRINTING MAM-HNE T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PERCY MORRIS, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, residing at 9 and l0 Fenchurch street, London, England, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Color-Printing Machines, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention vrelates to improvements in apparatus for multi-color orpolychrome printing, and especially for printing or producing a textureground-Work for bank notes, bonds and other securities Whichconsiderably adds to the security of such notes or for other purposesWhere extreme perfection in registration is required.

1f an ordinary polychrome print be examined under a magnifying glass itWill be found that the registration of the colors is only approximate.Accurate registration for ordinary pictorial effects is not necessary.

f a texture has t0 be printed, it is very essential that theregistration for the successive printings should be extremely accurateso that the individual elements may exactly fit into their properpositions and the relative configuration be exactly the same in eachcopy.

For example, the characteristic appearance of the texture ivill dependupon the sizes, shapes and relative configuration of the individualelements. An extremely small variation of these factors may very Wellresult in a texture having a different appearance.

The object of the present invention is to provide for cases in whichexceedingly accurate register is necessary and in Which the registerdetermines the characteristic appearance of the print, and the inventionconsists in employing in combination With a series of printing surfacesdesigned to be successively brought into printing position anarrangement of magnets Which will draw frames carrying the printingsurfaces into close contact With accurately adjusted stops.

A suitable form of printing machine in which my invention can be carriedinto practice comprises a series of printing blocks or surfaces arrangedupon a sliding carrier in conjunction with an oscillating plunger, thesaid carrier being adapted to be moved intermittently with relation tothe said plunger in such a manner that each oscillation 0f the Saidplunger will trans- Speeicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented. Oct. 16, 1917..

1916. Serial No. 84,424.

fer a printing block from the carrier to make an impression and thenreturn it to the carrier.

To enable my invention to be fully understood I Will describe it withreference to the accompanying drawings, in Whichz Figure 1 is a frontelevation of such apparatus wherein the printing blocks are successivelybrought into operative position with a fixed plunger having thereon thepaper to be printed.

Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation.

Fig. 3 is a sectional side elevation of a part of the mechanismdetached.

Fig. l is a front view of a printing frame detached and drawn to alarger scale than Fig. l, and

Fig. 5 is a side view of the same.

a indicates the oscillating plunger Which carries the printing block andb the platen upon, or against, whichk the paper to be printed lies, thesaid plunger a being mounted upona framing c which at the upper partalso carries the platen side frames c1, c1 connected to the said framingserving to carry the inking table Z in connection with which the inkingrollers c, c operate in a manner Which Will. be readily understood. rTheduct e* containing the ink is divided into sections for the differentcolors and the rollers c also divided in lengths to keep the colors fromoverlapping.

Between the frames c1 l arrange a transverse guide 7" upon which ismounted a slide or carriage g having depending from it a series of hornsL, h upon which frames i, carrying the printing blocks, are designed tobe supported and moved in a transverse direction with relation to theprinting surface. Each of these frames, one of which is shown detachedin Fig. 4 and dravvn to a larger scale than the other figures, is, asshown, designed for carrying tivo printing blocks so that tvvoimpressions may be made at the same time, but it is to be understoodthat the frames may be adapted for carrying one or more printing blocks.

Each printing frame or chase has upon its lateral edges flanges c, 7:;which are designed to rest upon lugs 701 at the lovver end of the hornsh, as clearly indicated in Figs. l, 2 and 3.

The slide g is designed to have an intermittent movement imparted to it,in one direction, for the purpose ef bringing the several printingframes sucessively into pc,

sition between the oscillating plunger a and the platen b, and, asshown: iHthediaWin-gS,

this is effected through the Nmedium of a pawl Z, Fig. l, engagingWith'fteeth -Z9fon the slide g and carried at the extremity of a leverarm Z1L (see `Fig. .1) oscillated-throughj1 the medium of a rod Z2 by acrank Z!3 on a shaft Z4 driven by gearmgZf'YfrOm'Athe" main signed'v for'printing a separate colo-r,- is employed,'it isl obvious that eachframe is 1only temporarily in contact `With the' 'oscillating arm n.,theiarrangement'being such that, as the't machine "operates,1 thevprinting `l`frame which lies between the head of the said loscillatingplunger and fthepl-atent shall lbe taken off the carrier and 'movedff upto the printing" bed Vto lmakel 4an impression;-4 and then' bevbrought'baok by the saidoscillating plunger and replaced uponthe slideor car-v riagefg,l whereupon the said slide Will be moved anothersteptobring the next-frame,' for printing another color, intoposition,- whentheoperation Will be repeatedand so on.

A series of micrometer'fscrews 2 is pro# vided' forvregisterin'g theblocks'z'l in their respe'ctin'fev fra1`neS"-Z', and a vseries Vof stopsn, n, 'nl preferably'adjustable,' is also" pr0' vided vfor automaticallypositioning' the frames Z, the:l stops' fn; serving fo-r jthe ver; ticaladjustment of the printing framesiy and the stop nl for the-lateral-adjustment tlie'r'eof The printing-frames 'i are brought intocontact4With' these/stops immediately prior`'to the printing operationby amag'-v net, and advantageously anV electrom'agnet' n? is provided forinsuringthe` close contact' of the frames with the lateral"stop,'the*said magnet :being ,fiXedon the-frame c in`=proX-' imity totheiplate'n Z).

LA rotary svvitclror other electrical con@I tact `d'evice, not shovvnfisprovided yvatisome" suitable'part of the'mechanism forienergiz ing thefmagnet coils vat the required' moment before'the printing block islpressed: into'conl" tact-With the surface to be printed Iso -as toIinsurethatthe printing frai'neis'in' close contact r-with thefrespective stops. f

In fpractice it Will l'orobablyfjbe found;

with fthe 'particular form 'of mechanism shown, that' the''Weightbf-"'the'printing' frame will be suiiicient to insi'ire' proper'con--k ta'ctwith' thesto'ps n, but,l ifdesired,V a

pulling action,l the said "magnetf'beirrgf-sup-'i ported on the frame c.

n orderi'to support theprnt'infgfframes z' vided With a shelf p whichpasses beneath the bottoml of each-.printing frame before it is movedoff the said carrier g and the porvtions'fof thetframes z which makeContact With the stops n, n nl are beveled or inelinedyasv shown inFigs. t and', to` bring the frames accurately into position.

' Wli'enf'lthe oscillating plunger t has been operated, (say by a cam gcarried on a shaft g1 geared by gear" Wheels'r'je, 'Q3 'With themainlshaftrie) to cause theprinting block to make impression; thelsaidoscillatingy plungerf-vill` commence' its rearward" move-L ment7-theprinting franief'z' remaining *supeV portedt--u'pon the-"slielfjbvof Isuclr'plunger until the latter has movedback` far f enough for thelugs' 'Zclonfthe carrier7 to engage beneath'-thefflangesk of the' saidframe.'lfV

cient tofallowv it -to return^vvitlr perfect safety* to the oscill atingplunger jafter prin't' ing one'ory more electro-magnets :may be 'ein--4pl'oyedr toi attract 'the' chaseor block,Av the said magnet ormagnetsbeingun this'case"-at tached "to 'or embeddedin 'thefbed 'of thesaidplungerflhe'said 4frame is thenmoved' a step-"farther' tobringisanotherfframe into'position and-so on. 'Thegearwheelga isattachedto the gearwvheelZ5 so that they' are simultaneously put into gear by"the: clutch'ZG.'

After4` the'- carrier slide g' has been lmoved to takefanlimpression"fromfall the blocks (therextreme position of such'carrierbeing indicatedfby d'ot'ai'idwdash linesin Fig'l)V itisnecessar-yf-'to returrrthe'fisaid vcarrier frame to the positionindicated-ini full lines in thesaidffigure; andthis-is advantageouslyaccomplished means of'mechanism'whichl is most clearly shown inv Fig. v3of thefdra'W-*f ingX iandl *which comprises a -Y bevel `WheelI f r whichreceives" its "motion f through 'spur gearingf r1 from' the?mainshaftthrough the medium of a clutch r2, a bevel fpini'onra' slightly elevatedduring fsuch return Inovelv mentv S For this i purpose the pawloperating gear is timed to move the paWl on its backs" Ward-r'novei'n'ent ai -sl'ior't distance only along an inclineZ at therighthand'l end' ofthe slide; a pin' Z8 on the pavvl riding pastfand *ilifting afpiwit'edi` gravity switch v'Z9 so thatv L 'y vvhenfy 'theslide "g commences' the return' movement thesaid pi-nZs Will 'ride uponto a shelf-"Z10V on the:L slide onl Which fit' willl be supportedv tohold-the pavv'l outfo-f thepath finishes its return movement when thepawl will no longer be supported by the shelf and fall to its normalposition, so that when the pawl is allowed to complete its backwardmovement it will engage behind the first tooth Z0.

c2 is a standard or frame to assist in supporting the slide g when movedout of the guide f into the dotted line position indicated in Fig. l.

The pinion r3 may be connected to its shaft in such a way as toconstitute a free wheel when rotating during the time that the slide gis being acuated to bring each printing frame z' successively into theprinting position.

rlhe inking rollers e, e are spring connected to arms el in the knownway, the said arms being supported upon a shaft c2 designed to beoscillated through the medium of an arm c3 thereon, a connecting rod c4and a crank e5 loose on the shaft m but designed to be engaged therewithby a clutch c5. The inking rollers are timed to be actuated when theslide g has been returned to the position shown in Fig. l.

In the arrangement shown the printing surface will always recline uponthe oscillating plunger, and it is therefore necessary that the printedsurface should be similarly inclined, this renders diliicult the use ofseparate sheets. We have, therefore, in the drawing shown the printingas being effected upon a web of paper s carried on a roll r and thenintermittently moved over the printing platen by the feed rolls u. Inconnection with these feed rolls I have shown a knife u for successivelysevering the printed sections from the web s.

For bringing the various mechanisms of the machine into and out of gearat the required time suitable timing gear, not shown, is employed.

It is to be understood that my invention is not in any way limited tothe arangement of mechanism described as it will be obvious that theprinting frames can be moved into and out of printing position by meansother than those described. Also, it is to be understood that instead ofemploying print ing surfaces designed to be successively brought intoposition to print upon a stationary surface as hereinbefore described, Imay arrange the printing surfaces to be stationary while the surface tobe printed is moved successively into accurately registered positionsdetermined by rigid abutments.

It will further be understood that the magnets for pulling the frameinto position may be quite independent of the parts carrying the stopsagainst which the registra-` tion is effected. Claims: 1. In a printingmachine, a platen for stationarily supporting the material to be actedupon while a plurality of impressions are made, a plunger cooperatingwith said platen, a carrier movable relative to the platen, a pluralityof printing blocks removably supported by said carrier and adapted to bebrought successively into position to make an impression upon thematerial, and means provided on said plunger for detaching the blocksfrom said carrier and temporarily supporting said blocks while they arebeing applied to the material.

2. A printing machine comprising a platen for stationarily supportingthe material to be acted upon while a plurality of impressions are made,a plunger coperating with said platen, a carrier movable relative to theplaten, a plurality of printing1 blocks removably supported by saidcarrier and4 adapted to be brought successively into position to make animpression upon said material, means' for applying differently coloredinks te said blocks, and means provided on said plunger for detachingthe blocks from said carrier and temporarily supporting said blockswhile they are being applied to the material.

3. In a printing machine, a platen for stationarily supporting relativeto the platen, the material to be acted upon while a plurality ofimpressions are being made, a plunger cooperating with said platen, acarrier, a plurality of printing blocks removably supported by saidcarrier and adapted to successively make an impression upon saidmaterial., and means provided on said plunger' for detaching the blocksfrom said carrier and temporarily supporting said blocks while they arebeing applied to the material.

4. In a lprinting machine, a platen for stationarily supporting thematerial to be acted upon while a plurality of impressions are beingmade, plunger cooperating with said platen, a carrier horizontallymovable relative to the platen and provided with projecting` arms, aplurality of printing blocks removably supported by said carrier andadapted to successively make an impression upon said material, and meansprovided on said plunger for detaching the blocks from said carrier andtemporarily supporting said blocks while they are being applied to thematerial.

5. In a printing machine, a platen for stationarily supporting thematerial to be acted upon while a plurality of impressions are made, aplunger coperating with said platen, a carrier movable relative to theplaten and provided with depending arms having supporting lugs, aplurality of print-v ing block frames removably supported by said lugsand each carrying a plurality of printing blocks, the printing blocks ofeach frame; 'being Vadapted to be broughtfsucces-^sively-iintoiposition, to make-.an impression.y

upon tlieinateriaL'and means provided on said plungerfor detaching theIblock framesv froinfsaid :lugs: andv temporarily supportingv thesanicwliile the blocksare vbeing applied to the material i 6. In aprinting machine, a 4platen for sta-i tionarily supporting the materialto be acted upon avliile tf-plurality of impressionsA are. made, waplunger coopera-ting ,wvith `saidplateii; a carrierwinovable relativeIto theiy platen, means for intermittently moving said ycarrier* a`plurality. :of printing blocks removablysupported-by said carrier andada )ted-to be brought Isuccessivel into o. b

sition teY make-fanA impression upon thematerial, and -means provided onsaid plunger.f

for `idetaehing the blocks from saidcarrier and: temporarily supportingsaid blocks While theyV are being applied to the material.

7. -In a printing machine, a platen for stati onarily supporting thematerial. to be acted. upon While a-pliiralityf of impressions are madea plunger)cooperating yWith lsaid platen,Y a carrier movable relative tothe'r platen, -,a plurality of printing blocks removably supported by.said carrier :and adapted to be broughtsuccessively into position tomake-an impression upon the material', means'provi'ded on said plungerfor detacliingV thebloeks from said carrier and temporarily supportingsaid blocks While they yare;beiiiglapplied :to the material, andindependent registering means for insuring` accurate registration of theblocks With theT 9. In a printing machine, a platen member=fersupportingthe'material t-o be acted upon,'a plunger movable ytoward andaway from said-platen, a frame member carryingV a printingiblockinovably supported by said Gcpiesiofithis'patent may be obtained 'for vecents each, .by addressing ythe.Commissionenoi Patents,

plungenggistops -providedwuponv one .of saidf members, Ainclinedsurfaces provided ,on the otherfmember designed to engage saidstopswhen; the yplungerl approaches the platen, anda magnetiprovidedon'one oftliefmem-f bers and adapted to draw the other member;

toward the saine before an impression .is ,inadei' 10.l In a printingmachine,thecombinae.

tion with a platen member anda printing block frame. .member supportingaprinting block Iwhichi-.coperates with said platen member, of electro-magnets .provided on one of said membersandadapted to draw the`othermember/toward tlie saine before .an impression is made.

11. In a` printing machine, a platen provided wvitli stops,.aplungercooperating With said platen, ,a printingblock frame. nmovf.

ably rsupported. by said plunger` and. provided,Withinclined surfacesadapted to engagesaid stops whentheplunger is moved tow-ard saidvplateineand electro-magnets for dra-wing said .frame toward said stops12.` In a printing machine, a .platen-pro-V moved toivard :said platen,and feleotro-inag` nets forldrawing said .frame -toivardsaid stops.. Y

13.l 'In a-printingmachine, a platenpro.-- vided with yadjustable stops,a plunger. cooperating I.With said platen, a carrier hori- Zontallymovable relative to the platen,.a

printingblockrframe removably' supported by said carrier and l,providedWith-inclined surfaces `adapted toengage ',said `,stops when the blockframe is moved toivaid said platen,

meansY ,provided on-.said plunger for detaching the frame from thecarrierV andtem-v porarily .supporting the. saine Tvhile fsaid bloclrisbeing applied to thematerial acted upon, and. electro=magnetsfor drawingsaid frame toward.; said stops:

PERGY MORRIS'.

Witnesses JOHN. E. BoUsFinLD, A. ALBUTT.

WashingtomD. 03,. r,

